Fantastic Term

It has been a fabulous term at Scoresby PS. Thank you to our staff and students for making it so terrific. We have minimal issues here at school; a yard that is safe, and classrooms that are supportive and focused on learning. Our Foundation students have all settled into school life, and the revamped Foundation room has added to their success.

With NAPLAN testing being moved forward this year, there was a fair bit to get on with in the first half of the term for our senior classes. NAPLAN preparation is necessary in terms of understanding the types of questions that will be asked (often multiple choice), exploring the types and styles of writing required for assessment, and checking that students know and are able to manage the time limits on all NAPLAN tests, so they need to practise writing and answering questions under time limits. The change in the timing of NAPLAN to this stage of the year is welcomed, but it makes for a busy time prior to the testing period.

We have also celebrated Harmony Week this term, and this year we added a cultural dance incursion into the celebrations.

All students have had the opportunity to participate in our swimming programs too. Swimming is always well attended each year and we know the students are tired at the end of the program. It’s timely to finish the swimming program at the end of term.

Academic Award Recipients

This year we have introduced Scoresby PS Academic Awards. These awards will be given out each term going forward, to a student in each class who has shown great progress in Literacy or Numeracy.

This does not mean that the student needs to be at the top of the class in these areas. Students will be recognised for their extra effort, gaining an understanding of a key concept, or completing extra practice to master a goal or a skill. We are pleased to see these awards rolling out this year, and the recipients of this term's awards are:

Monitoring Attendance

The Department of Education (DE) is focusing on school attendance again this year. Attendance is a marker used by the Department for student outcomes, engagement and wellbeing. DE are are asking schools to closely monitor student attendance and raise concerns with families about consistent absences. We already monitor attendance closely at Scoresby PS, but next term we are adjusting our practices to comply with DE expectations.

We do not want sick children at school, and encourage you to keep your child at home if they are very unwell. On the other hand, we are finding some children are missing many days of school and are not that unwell. Please give consideration when deciding if your child should miss a day of school. One day is fine, but we have a few students who have missed more than 5 days this term - that’s a week of learning. Any day of absence puts students behind.

Parent Helpers

It’s great to see a few parents coming into school to assist in and out of the classrooms. Please see your child’s teacher if you would like to be part of the learning community at Scoresby PS. All parents are welcome; you need to provide the office with a current Working with Children Check, and have signed our Child Safe Code of Conduct. The class teacher will give you a booklet on how you can help out in the classroom as well.

We would love parents assisting in all classrooms next term. If you can spare an hour a week, please see your child’s classroom teacher.

Maths @ Home

Our Maths @ Home launch for each year level has been very successful this term, with many parents coming to school at 3pm to learn a Maths game with their level. We are in the process of making a website to host our Maths @ Home games, learning and information. We will launch this at an assembly early next term.

Enrolments For 2024

This year there is a new enrolment policy and timeline which has been added to the school entry process.

Important updates to school zones and enrolment information come into effect from Term 2, 2023.

These include:

school zones for the 2024 school year
a simplified priority order of placement in the Placement Policy, which include making it clearer that students living within the zone are guaranteed a place at their local school
an updated enrolment form and new application form, which reflect requirements of privacy law and department policies

For more information on enrolling your Foundation 2024 student, please see the following link below:

Foundation (Prep) enrolment information pack - parents carers (education.vic.gov.au)

Scoresby PS is now taking applications for enrolment for 2024 Foundation students.

School Fees For 2023

Thank you to the families that have paid their school fees, or those who have set up a payment plan.

Schools purchase stationery, classroom equipment and programs at the end of each year, and most of these costs are covered by our school fees. No child in public schooling misses out on these items, and the parent contribution of school fees greatly assists us in covering this expenditure. Please see Tina or Sue if you would like to discuss school fees and payment plans.

Happy Easter!

We wish our students, staff and families a very happy Easter. We hope the Easter Bunny finds everyone! We’ve had some lovely egg hunts at school this week led by our school leaders.

Wishing everyone a relaxing Term 1 break. School resumes on Monday 24th April. Please note, Tuesday 25th April is a Public Holiday (ANZAC Day).

SUE HARTLEY AND NICOLE RHEUMER

Scoresby Primary School Leaders

Foundation News

A Special Visitor In Foundation!